Lesson Overview In this lesson I will teach the theory of plate tectonics using different types of media. We will discuss Pangaea after students read out loud the main points in the textbook. After this we will use a cut out “puzzle” method of forming Pangaea and then watch a video to sum the theory up. Objectives Students will be able to identify what continents match up across the world. Students will be able to describe Pangaea and why there is continental drift. Students will define sea floor spreading.
Materials
Textbooks
Map of the world worksheet
Scissors
Colored pencils
Links to Resources See visual aids section.
Safety Issues Students will practice basic classroom safety and also be careful when using scissors to cut the map.
Instruction This lesson will consist of many types of learning (auditory, visual and kinesthetic) in order to help students understand the theory of plate tectonics.
Opening I will begin class by introducing the students to Pangaea. I will ask the students if anyone has heard of this word. “Does anyone know what it means?” We will then discuss our prior knowledge of plate tectonics as a class, before beginning the activities. (5 minutes)
Learning Activities The first learning activity will be using the textbook. The beginning of the section is a very succinct way of describing plate tectonics. Also the students seem to enjoy reading out loud, so continuing this method would be consistent with previous lessons. Students would volunteer to read a paragraph (there are 8 in this section) and can only read the one paragraph. When they have finished, a student jumps in and begins reading the next paragraph. This is called “popcorn” reading in the classroom. After this, we will rewrite our definitions of the plate tectonic theory. We will also discuss what we think makes a theory different from a law, and why we think plate tectonics is still a theory. After this we will watch a short video clip about the scientists who found identical fossils on coasts of opposite continents. We will have a short discussion of this video after, and then break into groups of two to complete the worksheet. Each student will complete their own sheet, but there is a limited amount of scissors and colored pencils so they will share. This sheet is a map of the world. The students will cut out the continents and fit them together in order to create Pangaea. They will also use different colored pencils to show what edges are touching. The edges will be in the same color. After this we will continue a discussion about the sea floor spreading, where I will ask students what they know from their reading. We will create a class definition, and also have this on the board. (40-45 minutes)
Closing I will ask the students to copy the class definitions into their notebook for all terms we defined in class. I will also ask them to finish their Pangaea coloring map for homework, and if they finished in class they can hand in their completed work to me. While the students are finishing their work and cleaning up the supplies I will briefly review how the continents shifting correlates to the layers of the Earth not all being solid. This will tie back into a previous lesson (the first lesson) and activate connections. (5 minutes)
Unit: Earth’s Interior
Title: Plate Tectonics
Lesson Overview
In this lesson I will teach the theory of plate tectonics using different types of media. We will discuss Pangaea after students read out loud the main points in the textbook. After this we will use a cut out “puzzle” method of forming Pangaea and then watch a video to sum the theory up.
Objectives
Students will be able to identify what continents match up across the world.
Students will be able to describe Pangaea and why there is continental drift.
Students will define sea floor spreading.
Materials
- Textbooks
- Map of the world worksheet
- Scissors
- Colored pencils
Links to ResourcesSee visual aids section.
Safety Issues
Students will practice basic classroom safety and also be careful when using scissors to cut the map.
Instruction
This lesson will consist of many types of learning (auditory, visual and kinesthetic) in order to help students understand the theory of plate tectonics.
Opening
I will begin class by introducing the students to Pangaea. I will ask the students if anyone has heard of this word. “Does anyone know what it means?” We will then discuss our prior knowledge of plate tectonics as a class, before beginning the activities.
(5 minutes)
Learning Activities
The first learning activity will be using the textbook. The beginning of the section is a very succinct way of describing plate tectonics. Also the students seem to enjoy reading out loud, so continuing this method would be consistent with previous lessons. Students would volunteer to read a paragraph (there are 8 in this section) and can only read the one paragraph. When they have finished, a student jumps in and begins reading the next paragraph. This is called “popcorn” reading in the classroom. After this, we will rewrite our definitions of the plate tectonic theory. We will also discuss what we think makes a theory different from a law, and why we think plate tectonics is still a theory. After this we will watch a short video clip about the scientists who found identical fossils on coasts of opposite continents. We will have a short discussion of this video after, and then break into groups of two to complete the worksheet. Each student will complete their own sheet, but there is a limited amount of scissors and colored pencils so they will share. This sheet is a map of the world. The students will cut out the continents and fit them together in order to create Pangaea. They will also use different colored pencils to show what edges are touching. The edges will be in the same color. After this we will continue a discussion about the sea floor spreading, where I will ask students what they know from their reading. We will create a class definition, and also have this on the board.
(40-45 minutes)
Closing
I will ask the students to copy the class definitions into their notebook for all terms we defined in class. I will also ask them to finish their Pangaea coloring map for homework, and if they finished in class they can hand in their completed work to me. While the students are finishing their work and cleaning up the supplies I will briefly review how the continents shifting correlates to the layers of the Earth not all being solid. This will tie back into a previous lesson (the first lesson) and activate connections.
(5 minutes)
Assessment
Formative assessment- Pangaea worksheet
Homework
Students will complete the Pangaea worksheet if not finished in class.
Additional Notes
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